The invention is in the field of water pipes of the variety commonly known as "bongs" which are used to smoke rare and expensive tobaccos and other exotic herbs.
A bong is a simplified version of a water pipe and is characterized in a central upright barrel, the bottom of which has a diagonal pipe stem extending therefrom with a pipe bowl on the end, such that the bottom portion of the bong barrel can be filled with water to a level below the bong bowl and above the bottom bunghole of the bong barrel. When thus prepared for smoking with the smoking substance ignited in the barrel, the user can inhale from the top of the bong and the smoke is drawn through the water in the bong bottom.
However, there are several problems inherent with the design of the traditional basic bong. The first is the seepage of the bilge in the bottom of the bong barrel up through the stem into the tobacco bowl, thus rendering the tobacco difficult to burn. Another problem resides in the vulnerability of the open-topped bong to spillage when knocked over and the incumbent mess created in the interior of the user's house.
Yet a third area which could be improved from the basic bong design is the relatively short passage of the smoke through the water or other cooling substance.